The 1001–The 1800s and back
Well, out of the 1001 books some dude says you should read before you die, I’ve read 43 out of the 157 listed from the 1800s:
Tag Archives: Adventure
Harpy’s Flight by Megan Lindholm
Synopsis: After her husband and children are brutally murdered by a god-like Harpy, Ki undertakes an act of vengeance that severs her ties with her husband’s people, and sends her on a dangerous journey up an icy mountain overseen by a malevolent force. Review: Megan Lindholm is Robin Hobb, whom I love. Harpy’s Flight is the first in a 4-book series featuring teamster Ki and her unlikely partner Vandien, and while the storytelling isn’t as accomplished as in her later works, Harpy’s Flight is a…
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
Review: The second in trilogy begun in His Majesty’s Dragon finds Temeraire and Laurence traveling by sea to China where Temeraire will take his rightful place as the dragon of an emperor–not a member of His Royal Majesty’s Navy battling against an ever-encroaching Napoleon. Review: Throne of Jade is a more than worthy installment in the tale of Temeraire, a dragon hatched from an egg given by China to Napoleon but seized by the English. When Temeraire hatched, the first person he saw was naval…
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Synopsis: Roberta and her brother and sister have to leave London for the countryside when their father is mysteriously sent away, but they discover a world of delight thanks to the nearby railroad.
Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier
Synopsis: The granddaughter of a powerful sorceress finds herself coerced into betraying her kin to bring about the downfall of Ireland. Review: Child of the Prophecy is the third installment in Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters trilogy follows the story of Fianne, granddaughter of Sorcha, who saved her brothers after they were turned into swans, and niece to Liadan, the healer who managed to thwart the pattern set by the Old Ones. It’s the weakest installment, due largely in part to the lack of nuance in crafting…
Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier
Synopsis: The 2nd in Marillier’s Sevenwaters trilogy, Son of the Shadows picks up with Liadan, daughter to Sorcha from book 1, kidnapped by a band of ruthless mercenaries, where she learns that she stands outside of the Old Ones’ pattern–and thus might have the power to change destiny. Review: I enjoyed Son of the Shadows much more than Daughter of the Forest. The writing was richer, the characters more interesting, and the story denser. The story is set in medieval Ireland at the time of…
Forest Mage by Robin Hobb
Synopsis: The strange adventure of magic-possessed soldier son Nevare continue, as he finds himself expelled from military academy when his weight skyrockets after a bout of the Speck plague. Review: Forest Mage is the second book in Robin Hobb’s Soldier Son trilogy begun in Shaman’s Crossing. Interestingly, I found echoes of Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead in the clash between the progress-loving “human” Gernians and the forest-dwelling dappled Specks, and spent a good deal of the read worrying that Hobb’s story was going…
Shaman’s Crossing by Robin Hobb
Synopsis: A young man’s military training is threatened by his seeming possession by a creature in thrall to an evil forest goddess. Review: Shaman’s Crossing is the first book in Robin Hobb’s newest trilogy, Soldier Son, and I ate it up with a spoon, thanks to a very long train ride to Canada. The world of Soldier Son takes place in a frontier-like environment much like the Old West at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, with Nevare, the main character, on his way to…
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
Synopsis: The setting is the Napoleonic wars, in a world where dragons exist and are part of military operations. An English naval captain captures a French vessel, and on board is a particularly valuable treasure: a dragon’s egg, and joins the Aerial Corps with Temeraire, a very rare Celestial breed, and together they join the fight. Review: I loved this idea the minute I read about it in one of Entertainment Weekly’s capsule reviews. The book reads more like an adventure tale than a fantasy–lots…
Traumatized by Johanna Spyri’s Heidi
Read a novel tonight for work–literary fiction. Gorgeous prose, interesting ideas. But not bloggable because it’s work, so you get a glimpse into the twisted past of the Superfast Reader, and link to the next book on my shelf. I feel like all my childhood memories are from when I was eight, except for when I knocked my tooth out when I was seven. But I am fairly certain that an incident involving Johanna Spyri’s book Heidi happened when I was a buck-toothed, thick glasses-wearing,…